analysis of Shakespeare Sonnet 29
Sonnet 29 is dominated by the melancholic feelings of the speaker and his own anxieties about himself. ... This mood of melancholy however, is soon extinguished at the thought of the speaker’s dear friend (or in terms of the sonnet sequence, the Fair Youth), whose memory is enough to compensate for all the sorrows the speaker has just expressed. This transition from melancholy to a mood of ecstasy is highlighted by the uncommon Petrachan structure of the sonnet. Though still following the typical Shakespearean rhyming scheme, sonnet 29 is written in the typical Italian style where a volta, or change of mood, comes in after line 8. ... But even with this change in mood, an underlying hint of melancholy still runs throughout the entire sonnet. The word ‘remembered’ in line 13 (though taken to mean the recollection of the friends sweet love) can also be interpreted as an implicit reference towards the speakers insecurities addressed earlier on in the sonnet, as we see how though the speaker remembers his friend as loving him, he may not be in the position to know if this love continues to the present . ... This reversal in the mood of the sonnet also increases the pace. An example of how the language changes between the 2 parts of the sonnet can be seen in the different descriptions of Heaven in each.